


At the dentist

by Msgay



Category: Holby City
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Big Macho Army Medic Bernie Wolfe, F/F, dentists can be fun
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-21
Updated: 2019-05-21
Packaged: 2020-03-09 08:56:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,597
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18913693
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Msgay/pseuds/Msgay
Summary: Bernie has a horrible toothache so she finds Serena, the dentist. However Bernie wasn't paying attention when she booked her appointment.Believe it or not this is based on a real life event. So yeah, dentists can be fun.Quick appearance by Jason.





	At the dentist

**Author's Note:**

> This happened to a friend of mine some years ago. She gave me permission for publication, don't worry. 
> 
> I am a sucker for disaster lesbians. 
> 
> The "issue/condition" I mention is common until our early/mid twenties not at 52, it was just easier to write it this way.

Bernie had never had a toothache in her life; perhaps it was the doctor in her, she wasn’t obsessively brushing her teeth, she normally brushed twice a day, sometimes three times, but she made sure all her teeth had the same attention. Was it a result of her upbringing or boarding school? Whatever it was she was very happy that at 52 she had never had a toothache. She witnessed some of her unit members experiencing horrible pain in the field and wished it never happened to her.

Her first toothache just _had_ to happen as she was finally recovering from her injuries. Months of gruelling physio, exercises, pool… plus arguments with her doctors over her medication. She rarely needed her cane now, had only a slight limp. She took some Ibupofren and hoped her tooth would let her sleep.

 

Serena loved being a dentist. Both her parents had been dentists but they never pushed her into it. She was often complimented on her smile but it wasn’t just health, it was pure joy of loving what you do. Of course she was often appalled at the state of some patients’ mouths but even that didn’t break her spirit.

 

Bernie felt she was going mad. She didn’t manage to sleep all night and the Ibupobrens she took every 8 hours were barely helping. She couldn’t eat or even drink coffee. Grumpy and desperate she looked up on her phone for a local dentist. There were a few in towns but only two were open for walk ins. She called the first number on speaker as her cheeks were sensitive to touch. Unfortunately, Dr. Jac Naylor was on holiday. She then dialled Dr Serena McKinnie.

“Hello? Doctor Se-”

“Hi! Hi. Hello. My name is Bernie Wolfe. I need an appointment; my wisdom tooth is killing me! I can’t sleep, I can’t eat, I can’t even drink coffee! It hurts like a motherf-I mean, it hurts a lot, like a throbbing hell. I can only drink lukewarm water.” Bernie spoke super fast.

“I-”

“Please. Anytime. Now even, I live 5 minutes away.”

“But I-”

“Please! Save me!” Bernie absolutely refused to cry on the phone to a stranger.

Serena sighed.

“I am just arriving at my office. Gimme… say 20 minutes to turn everything on?”

“Perfect! Thank you!”

Bernie hung up without waiting for a reply. She got dressed quickly and ran out of the flat not realising she looked frazzled, even a bit mad. In less than 5 minutes Bernie was by Dr. McKinnie’s front door and paced outside trying to distract herself. Even if she hadn’t quit smoking it would hurt her stupid tooth. Unbeknownst to her, Serena observed her pacing with a curious smile.

After she checked the time for the fourth or fifth time the front door opened and she started hearing a faint piano. A few notes she knew well were followed by a saxophone… and Bernie was smiling for the first time in 24 hours - she loved “In a sentimental mood” by Duke Ellington and John Coltrane. She relaxed without noticing. Then she saw Serena beaming at her like a benign Goddess and she was tense all over again.

“Ms. Wolfe?”

She walked towards Serena and they shook hands. “Bernie, please.” As they walked inside the clinic they passed and empty waiting room, an empty reception… an empty corridor… Bernie took note of all the illustrations: Disney, Marvel, Nintendo, DC and Ghibli characters with big smiles, a few with toothbrushes and a couple with surgical masks. She chuckled a few times and expressed her happiness at seeing beloved characters. She lost it at a Totoro with braces, started to laugh and winced in pain. Serena gestured for her to enter her office first and helped Bernie sit in the chair. She then added all the bibs and calmly sat down smiling at Bernie. 

“What seems to be the problem?” Bernie briefly explained her predicament and allowed Serena to have a look.

“It’s definitely inflamed…”

“ah.” Bernie was reminded of how dentists always try to have a dialogue while you are unable to properly answer.

“You have really good oral hygiene, very impressive.”

“tak u.”

Serena’s perfume was intoxicating. To distract herself Bernie first tried to stare at the ceiling but that got dull pretty quickly, instead she observed Serena: the way her eyes danced around; the little wrinkles on her brow as she focused and tried to make Bernie feel comfortable; her hair sprinkled with grey spiked up a bit with the mask…

“Bernie?” Serena was smiling down at her with a curious sort of expression. _Oh God, had she asked her something?_

“uh?”

Serena stepped on a button straitening Bernie’s chair.

“The good news is that there’s nothing really wrong with the tooth. It’s just popping out a bit later, rare but normal, and it’s tearing the gums as if fighting for space. So the gums are a bit cut and very inflamed, it’s no wonder as they must have been under attack for weeks. I’ve checked all four wisdom teeth and your mouth has space for them so no need to worry about impact. We will just treat the inflammation so you can feel better ok?”

“ ’erfect.” Serena chuckled and removed everything from Bernie’s mouth so she could speak properly. Then Serena got up, removed her gloves, trashed them and walked towards two cabinets at the other side of her office.

“If there is nothing with the tooth why does it hurt so much?”

“It’s an area full of nerves and it has extended to the jaw and inner ear, you came right away thankfully.”

Serena returned with what looked like toothpaste.

“Now Bernie, this is Parodontax. I won’t lie, it tastes horribly but it does wonders for inflamed or bleeding gums and works really fast.” Serena turned the tube and it had three smiley faces going from sad, to what the cadets were now calling “meh” and finally a happy smiley, underneath them was an arrow indicating this was for a two week period.

“See? They even warn you about getting used to the particular flavour.”

“Can’t be worse than army rations.”

“Ha! A big macho army woman, are we?” Serena joked.

“More like big macho army _medic_.” Bernie quipped. They smiled at each other for a short moment. Serena looked away first feeling flustered. She opened the tube, set it on her tray and put on a new set of gloves.

“I will apply the toothpaste directly on the gums, you will feel it as they are very inflamed, but I will try to be as gentle as I can. This way it starts working right away and you’ll get an idea how to do it later at home. Don’t use a toothbrush the next 48 hours, it will only irritate the gums further. Parodontax is a fluoride toothpaste so basically you brush your teeth with your finger. As it gets better try to, gently, push the gum around the tooth and down so it understands which direction to take. Ok?”

“OK.”

With her chair reclined and a with a tube in the corner of her mouth sucking her saliva Bernie wondered how long would the toothpaste need to work.

Serena gently massaged Bernie’s bottom left wisdom tooth with one finger, trying not to aggravate the situation any further knowing Bernie was in pain. After a few minutes Serena removed her hands and gave Bernie an appraising look. Bernie was indeed tasting the toothpaste and agreed with the sad smiley.

“You may also do this at home.” Serena removed her gloves and added a bit nervously. What followed was one of Bernie’s best experiences in her life; Serena gave Bernie an unhurried and measured facial massage. Her movements were precise, gentle and soft. At first Bernie mentally followed the muscles Serena was working: the Temporalis, Masseter and Pterygoid Muscles… then the mandible at the Temporomandibular Joint… After a minute Bernie was lost. For the first time in more than 24 hours she felt no pain and closed her eyes in bliss. Serena’s hands followed the jaw line, neck and back to the cheeks, all the while, gently but surely telling the gums they needed to recede back to their normal size and location. They both lost track of time. Serena was enthralled by Bernie’s relaxed expression, the feel of her skin under her hands, and unconsciously started to lean towards Bernie’s lips.

“Auntie Serena?” A voiced called out from a distance. Bernie opened her eyes, suddenly alert, and her pupils dilated when she saw how close Serena was. They stared at each other for a long second. As the footsteps got louder, Serena removed her hands from Bernie’s face. She cleared her throat.

“Yes, Jason?”

“Just to let you know I arrived-”

“With a patient, dear. I’ll be right out.”

“You didn’t have any appointm-”

“Be right with you!”

Bernie’s heartbeat was resembling a panicked hamster’s.

“Just do that a couple of times and the Parodontax every couple of hours.” She straightened Bernie’s chair and removed her bib.

“Thanks. I already feel much better.” Bernie was uncharacteristically nervous.

Collecting herself, Serena gestured for Bernie to sit at the visitor’s chair in front of her desk; she hoped the distance would calm her.

“The inflammation should go away in two, three days at the most.”

“Days? Plural?” Bernie squeaked.

Serena raised an eyebrow in a teasing expressing.

“What happened to my big macho army medic, hm?” Bernie blushed. Serena smiled and for a few seconds they stared at each other again. Hearing noise from the reception Serena put on her famous poker face.

“Just out of curiosity… how did you get my number?”

“uh. I just googled ‘walk in dentist near me’ or ‘emergency dentist near me’.” She was still a bit nervous and sweaty and made an effort to focus. “Why?”

“oh. I was just curious… you see…” She hesitated. “I’m actually a children’s dentist.”

Bernie was sure her heart had stopped. She quickly looked around and at last she noticed the big jar of miniature toys on Serena’s desk, another jar with lollipops, the cute plushies and stuffed animals all over the office’s floor and sofa, the Calvin & Hobbes wallpaper… Her brain finally took in all the illustrations at the clinic.  She was beyond mortified; she was sure even her scalp was turning red.

“oh God! I’m so sorry! I couldn’t sleep because of the tooth and I didn’t really pay attention to anything other than dentist and close by. I am so _so_ sorry.”

“It’s fine.” Serena reassured her.

“Really sorry, you should’ve said.”

“You seemed to be in distress, I couldn’t refuse.” Serena hoped her smile would calm Bernie who was looking more and more like she was going to bolt out the window. “I was just curious. The equipment is the same, you just have bigger and more teeth than most of my regular patients.” She chuckled. As Bernie only gave her a half smile while staring at her own hands she decided to go for humour. “As you were very good you have a choice of a toy and you get a free lollipop too.” She grinned. Bernie chuckled and finally looked up. She mock pretended to consider the offer. “What flavour lollipop?” Serena laughed and pushed the jar towards Bernie. “Take your pick.” Bernie picked a strawberry one and glanced at the toys. It was a fleeting movement but Serena spotted it and pushed that jar towards Bernie too. Half joyous Bernie turned the jar around to get a general view: it had Lego figurines; miniatures of all sort of cartoon and comic book characters and some miniature dentist toys… concentrating and with the tip of her tongue out, she managed, on her third try, to get a Lego Freddie Mercury and she grinned luminous at Serena. There was another inexplicable moment between them but they both seemed to be getting used to it and were able to react despite their butterflies in their stomachs.

“Let’s pencil you in two or three days?”

“You want to see me again? I mean, you treat children…”

“I am your dentist until that beautiful mouth of yours is all better.” She caught her slip but decided to feign bravery.

“OK. Well, I was medically discharged so I am not working now, I can come anytime. Plus, I live-”

“five minutes away, I remember.” They smiled.

Once the appointment was done they said their polite goodbyes, both secretly happy and excited to see each other so soon.

 

TWO DAYS LATER.

 

It is said doctors make terrible patients but Bernie had found pain to be an excellent drill Sergeant. She followed Serena’s instructions to the letter and was feeling much better. It was a mere coincidence that she combed her hair, applied a bit of make up and even ironed her shirt. She smiled at the Lego Freddie on her nightstand and grabbed her purse.

 

Serena hoped she didn’t look like she was making an effort because she was definitely making an effort. She bought a new blouse and applied a bit more make-up than usual. She had asked Jason to make sure Bernie was her last appointment of the day and hoped there were no delays.

 

Bernie was flipping through a magazine without paying attention when Serena entered the waiting room. It could have been upside down for all she knew. Serena wasn’t prepared to see Bernie in a tiny fitting shirt though, and she tripped even though there were no steps anywhere. Bernie, in turn, could only pay attention to the way Serena’s blouse danced around her luscious curves; it made her exhale suddenly. She got up and prepared mentally to shake Serena’s hand. Both women had, each in their own way, come to terms with this attraction so this time they were more comfortable and knew their way around it. They made small talk while walking towards Serena’s office. Each shinning like a beacon only the other could see.

Once in the office and with Bernie comfortable in the chair, Serena checked how Bernie was feeling and asked to have a look at her mouth.

“Any symptoms or reactions I should know about?”

“Nope.”

“Great.” Serena removed her gloves and signalled to Bernie that they should move to her desk. Serena was nervously going over her plan in her head.

“No lollipop today?” Bernie teased. What Bernie really wanted was to ask Serena out; would she be brave enough? _Just think how wonderful life could be_ , she thought as she picked an orange lollipop. Before she realised what was happening Serena was walking her to the door; Jason had already left. Once at the door Serena stepped outside, took a deep breath and handed Bernie a folder with her name.

“This is a copy of your file, I have to keep yours for 10 years for legal reasons. You’ll need a new dentist. I recommend my colleague Ric Griffin but I printed you a list of near by dentists…”

Bernie was immeasurably sad.

“Oh… you won’t be my dentist anymore?...” Each word fainter than the last.

“Ric has a 24 hour walk in clinic, surgery and… and...” Her mouth was dry. “Well, seeing that you are my only ex-patient of drinking age, I, I thought we could, perhaps, go for a drink? If, if you want.” She fiddled with her necklace.   

Bernie grinned, she felt her cheeks stretch and hurt.

“Yes! Yes, yes, yes!”

They laughed relieved and happy at how things were turning out.

**Author's Note:**

> So yes, this is how my friend went to a children's dentist. A gorgeous Greek woman and over a decade later she still says she had magic hands :D All exact until the end - sadly there was no drink in real life.


End file.
